This invention relates generally to a class of digital communication systems known as asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching systems and generally to intercomputer communications and telephony architectures. Although the invention is described herein with reference to specific hardware and software implementations for the purposes of providing a clearer explanation of the invention, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the inventions as described in the attached claims will have application in a variety of different communication environments. An extensive background discussion of ATM technology may be found in the '861 patents and other related patents cited herein.
Increasing demands for communications speed and capacity have created a need for higher performance ATM architectures that are highly scalable and can effectively handle large amounts of multicast and unicast traffic. An increasing variety of communications applications has created a need for ATM components that can be used in a wide variety of different ATM board designs. What is needed are methods and devices for constructing flexible and high performance digital switching systems.